Affymetrix, Korean firm ink forensic test deal

According to the Powered by Affymetrix (PbA) Programme agreement, Korea-based DNA Link obtained worldwide license to develop and commercialize a forensic test for human identification, which uses Affymetrix' microarray technology and GeneChip system

Affymetrix and DNA Link sign the Powered by Affymetrix (PbA) Programme agreement to develop and commercialize a forensic test for human identification

Singapore: Affymetrix and Korean genomics-based biotech company, DNA Link, signed a Powered by Affymetrix (PbA) Programme agreement. According to the agreement DNA Link obtained a worldwide license to develop and commercialize a forensic test for comprehensive human identification and other diagnostic tests using Affymetrix' microarray technology and the Korea FDA (KFDA)-cleared GeneChip System 3000Dx v2.

AccuID Chip is a novel SNP marker based array for personal identification, which can be applied to a variety of forensic samples, including degraded DNA samples. This array utilizes DNA Link's unique approach of combining Affymetrix' target resequencing array technology and multiplexing PCR technology to genotype hundreds of SNP markers in a single experiment to obtain high quality data and a wide variety of information all with high throughput and cost efficiency.

Dr Jong-Eun Lee, CEO of DNA Link, said, "The advantage of using SNP markers is that they possess lower mutation rate than STR markers, thus are more stable in terms of inheritance which could aid parentage testing, kinship analysis, ethnicity, or predicting phenotypic characteristics. This novel forensic test, AccuIDChip, can be used complementarily with existing STR tests and to build a more comprehensive forensic database. We are pleased to join the ranks of other PbA Programme partners, such as Roche Diagnostics and Pathwork Diagnostics in adopting the Affymetrix technology."

"We are very pleased to have DNA Link join our Powered by Affymetrix program in which we help partners to develop novel molecular diagnostic tests for personalized healthcare. DNA Link being our first partner in Korea will also provide our other PbA partners access to the Korean personalized genomics market," said Dr Dara Wright, vice president, clinical applications marketing, Affymetrix.